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A thrilling, seductive new series from New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas, blending Beauty and the Beast with faerie lore.

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

Perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore and George R. R. Martin, this first book in a sexy and action-packed new series is impossible to put down!

Quick review

A Court of Thorns and Roses is not just a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. It is an incredible, rich story about the lengths a person will go to for love. Sarah J. Maas brings to life interesting and detailed characters in a vivid world filled with humans and faeries, doomed unless Feyre, the main character, can break the curse placed on the ‘beast’, Tamlin. The book is filled with unexpected twists and characters you can’t help but grow attached to (or hate). It gave me one of the worst hangovers I’ve ever experienced, and I can absolutely say that I’ve been hooked into Maas Mania. Pass the Kool-Aid!

Not so quick review

Yes, I’ve finally written it! I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to read a book by Sarah J. Maas. I also can’t believe it’s taken me so long to write this review! I’ll admit, I’ve really struggled. While it’s hard to review a book you really didn’t like, it’s even harder to review a book that you loved. This book had it all for me, and I would have read it in one sitting if I didn’t have this inconvenient thing called ‘work’.

The book is meant to be a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, so you can guess what happens… to an extent. The main character, Feyre, is taken away to the home of the ‘beast’, Tamlin, with the unspoken hope that she falls in love with Tamlin before it’s too late to break a curse placed on him and his people. However, there is so much more that Maas has added to the tale, creating a rich story with traces of other fairytales (like Cinderella) as well as her own amazing twists. I felt the whole range of emotions: fear, disgust, giggly happiness, frustration… Oh, and let’s not forget some of those steamy moments!

The world of A Court of Thorns and Roses is shared between humans and fae – not the sweet little fairies you might find in the Flower Fairies books, but the scary, powerful faeries of Scottish folklore. I’ll admit I’m a bit of a sucker for books with the tricky fair folk, and I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love stories about faeries! (I’m so obsessed that I even spell the word ‘faery’ instead of ‘fairy’!)

Each character was unique and well-developed, making it hard for me to pick a favourite. Feyre was distant, loyal, strong, a bit reckless and clever in some ways but not others. I loved that she couldn’t read, as it’s not often we come across a main character with that limitation. She was by no means perfect

Tamlin was strange at first, but then he became completely swoon-worthy. I admit I have a thing for awkward moments, and he certainly provided plenty of these. However, when he started to get into the swing of things with all the wooing, he certainly charmed me. I think he is completely perfect for Feyre, and I’m a little worried that Maas will try to throw in a love triangle, which I really don’t think is necessary. How can Feyre be with anyone but Tamlin??? I mean, just read chapter 25. I have read it so many times, and had countless daydreams about it with a stupid grin on my face.

Lucien was so funny, and I can’t wait read more about him and his family. He brought the snark, another weakness of mine. I also think his past is a bit tragic, so I’m hoping Maas brings in a love interest for him at some point because I really think he deserves some cuddles. (I’m here for you, Lucien!)

And let’s not forget Rhysand! Ah, Rhysand. What can we say about him without giving too much away? Again, he’s witty, and if Maas’ Pinterest board is anything to go by, he’s also got the dark and dashing look down. There’s more to him than just his good looks, though, but you’ll have to read to see what I mean! Rhys is definitely shady, though, which is appropriate given his status. Some of the things he does to Feyre made me feel uncomfortable, and I’m not sure if I can get past them. I don’t know. While I’m definitely intrigued and maybe a little attracted to him, I think I’ll wait until the next book, when I’m sure we’ll see plenty more of him, to pass my final judgement.

Feyre’s family actually disgusted me a bit. They came across as uncaring, selfish, weak and cowardly, though one redeems herself towards the end. Her father should have been the one to care for the family. Only when he was given easy money did he come to life, showing just how lazy and pathetic he was.

Finally, Amarantha, the baddest bitch of them all. Maas really did well with her, as I hated her but also sort of felt sorry for her. We get to read about the history of humans and fae, and with that, we also learn about Amarantha’s past and what really brought out the evil in her. Scariest thing about her? The ring she wears with an eyeball in it! I can’t really imagine a worse fate than to be that eye.

The world-building in this book was phenomenal, and it helped that there was a map at the front to add to my imaginings. (I love maps. All books should have them!) Feyre is an artist, but so is Maas, painting each scene with just enough detail. The island Feyre lives on is broken into areas, the bottom section cordoned off for humans, while the rest is broken up into each court: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, Dawn, Day and Night.

We only really get to see Spring, as that’s where Feyre is taken, but what we do see is beautiful: meadows in bloom, green forests and even a starlight pond. (That scene, guys. Wow.) I really hope we get to see some of the other courts in the coming books, though I could do without constant winter! (England is bad enough, sometimes…) I particularly look forward to the Night Court, the home of the very interesting Rhysand. (Although, shadows coming to life is one of the things that can keep me up at night…)

This is probably one of my favourite books of this year so far, on par with Uprooted by Naomi Novik (review here). I can’t really think of anything bad to say, or even mediocre. Actually, bad but not so bad: this book gave me a hellish hangover. I actually had to lend it to someone just to stop myself from rereading it, especially now that I can recognise the clues that Maas left along the way. I’m looking forward to reading the next book (mostly to find out why Rhys stumbled!), as well as Maas’ other series, Throne of Glass!

22 responses to “Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas”

I love this book too! It’s not difficult to just get swept up in the world of the book. I also like to read books about the Fae. And omg, I love that you mentioned wanting to know why Rhysand stumbles at the end; I’m dying to know what that was all about.

Did you find any clues? I must know! 😀 One idea did occur to me, but I’m not sure… I’ve read The Iron Fey series – although, not the spin off ones with Ethan yet. I actually can’t think of too many… Hidden Among Us by Katy Moran and Stolen Away by Alyxandra Harvey are the only ones I can think of – they’re not some of my favourite books though. I’m a big Harvey fan, so read all her books.

If you like Fae, you could always check out Melissa Marr’s Wicked Lovely Series or Aprilynne Pike’s Wings (both are set in modern day, so it’s more paranormal than high fantasy). They’re both fun reads, though! 🙂

😀 perfect perfect! I re-read a few chapters myself as soon as I finished the book! I actually left it in Portugal the last time I went there, so I wouldn’t be tempted to open it all the time. this book is addictive.

Wow! Great Review! I’m so glad you totally loved this book.This book gave me the biggest hangover this year and the awful thing is we have to wait nearly a year for the sequel.I can’t wait to meet Rhysand, Lucien and Tamlin again.I’m also highly anticipating for the release of six of crows it’s another amazing book I’m eagerly waiting for.

This book was fantastic, I totally agree with this review! <3 The world-building was on point and I absolutely loved Lucien! For me, I'm fairly confident that Rhysand will be redeeming himself in the second book, I hope. I do think I'm liking him even more than Tamlin though, I guess we'll just have to wait for the sequel to see!

I absolutely ADORED this book (and Maas’s Throne of Glass books as well! If you haven’t gotten a chance to read them, you should give them a try! They’re are absolutely amazing!). Maas recently released the title for book two (A Court of Mist and Fury), and I can’t wait for May to get here already! Glad you seemed to like the book as much as I did! 🙂

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